Flat Glass Lite Weight
The weight of a glass lite for a safe lift.
Example
You enter
- Width (in) 60
- Height (in) 40
- Thickness (in, e.g. 0.25 for 1/4") 0.25
- Identical panes (1 lite; 2 for an equal IGU) 1
You get
- Area 16.67 ft^2
- Weight 54.2
Details, formula, and sources
Soda-lime float glass runs about 13.0 lb per square foot per inch of thickness (specific gravity 2.50), so weight = 13.0 x thickness(in) x area(ft^2). A 60 x 40 in lite of 1/4" glass is 16.7 ft^2 and 54 lb -- past the ~50 lb one-person limit, so a two-person or vacuum-cup lift. Tempering does not change the weight; an insulating unit (IGU) is the sum of its lites. Sizes the lift and checks it against a suction lifter's rating. A handling estimate; the glass type, the lifter's rating, and safe-lifting practice govern.
weight_lb = 156.1 lb/ft^3 x area_ft2 x thickness_in/12 x panes; area_ft2 = width_in x height_in / 144; weight_per_ft2 = 156.1 x thickness_in/12 (~13.0 lb/ft^2 per inch).
Flat glass lite weight (NGA Glazing Manual glass-weight table; ASTM C1036 flat glass), by name; the glass type and the lifter's rating govern.
The density x volume weight is first-principles; the soda-lime density (SG 2.50, 156.1 lb/ft^3) is the standard flat-glass value in every US glass-weight table.
Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
Field names used by the API: width_in, height_in, thickness_in, panes, area_ft2, weight_lb
- Soda-lime density SG 2.50, 156.1 lb/ft^3, ~13.0 lb/ft^2 per inch (published tables 13.0-13.1, ~1% tolerance)ASTM C1036 / NGA table
- Tempering / IGU tempering does not change the weight; an IGU is the sum of its litesNGA Glazing Manual